Concrete falls from bridge, commuter rail shut down in Natick

Thursday

May 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2007 at 4:45 AM

NATICK - The state highway department closed down the heavily used commuter rail line in Natick after foot-square chunks of concrete fell from the Speen Street bridge, about 100 yards north from Rte. 135. The concrete blocks fell just after 4:30 p.m. Thursday, shutting down rail traffic immediately.

MAP: The bridge breakdown

Video: Concrete falls from bridge

Eric Athas/Daily News correspondent

The state highway department closed the heavily used commuter rail line in Natick yesterday after foot-square chunks of concrete fell from the Speen Street bridge about 100 yards north from Rte. 135.

MAP: The bridge breakdown

The concrete blocks fell onto the tracks just after 4:30 p.m., shutting down rail traffic immediately. Truck traffic in Natick was also hampered yesterday following the accident.

By 5 p.m., MassHighway crews were at the accident scene knocking down loose concrete from the bridge about 30 feet above the tracks. Using ladders to reach the underside of the bridge, workers used iron rods to poke at the structure, knocking down football-sized chunks. At one point workers used the ladder itself to hit the bottom of the bridge.

With a few pieces of concrete still loose and out of reach, MassHighway officials and Natick Police decided not to immediately reopen the tracks.

At 5:40 p.m., a full double-decker commuter train with passengers headed toward Worcester pulled up so workers could better reach the underside of the bridge and dislodge additional chunks of debris.

MassHighway workers climbed on top of the nose of the train and jostled the last pieces of concrete until they fell to the ground. Confused passengers opened the side door of the train to get a better look at what was causing the hold up.

``They said they were inspecting the bridge, but that's all they told us,'' said Greg Cohan of Hopkinton as he leaned out the side of the train. Cohan said most passengers were calm despite the delay.

Erik Abell, a spokesman for MassHighway, said the train tracks under the bridge - which includes the MBTA commuter line - were closed while inspectors determined the extent of the damage and what repairs need to be made.

With police and MassHighway officials confident the rest of the concrete was secure, the train began moving at 5:53 p.m. At about 6:05, two more Worcester-bound commuter trains traveled under the bridge. A fourth westbound train moved past the accident site around 6:18 p.m.